jennc27

Thank you for the photos! Some of those mojitos sound yummy. :D

Which ships offer the pool side BBQ? We are thinking about trying out NCL and would like to know more information about this. :)

We did an 8 day on the Breeze with our two sons last May. At the time they were 12 and 7. They had a blast for their first cruise. We went to 3 of the islands you are looking at.

Grand Turk was great because we just stepped off the ship and found a place to sit and play. No cost or fees!

San Juan we just walked to the forts. The boys were free and it cost $5 per adult for both forts. My boys loved exploring the forts with the all the tunnels, spiral steps, and looking for canons. We rode the free trolley back to the ship.

St. Maarten we took the water taxi across the bay. When we stepped off the water taxi there was a lot of people selling stuff. One guy offered us a place on the beach and for $20 we had 2 chairs, an umbrella, 2 drinks, and access to a bathroom. There was a water trampoline next to us and for $5 my oldest had unlimited access to it.

The Breeze has so much to offer for kids. My boys never used the camps. One night we watched movies from the pool and the boys thought they had died and went to heaven! They loved the Sports Square and the Sky Course. My 7 year old was a little scared at first but by the time he was done he was flying through it. They also loved the water slides and play area. The best thing that my 12 year old loved was Guy's Burgers. Both of them loved getting ready for dinner at night and then going to the shows. I even took them to tea time one afternoon and they were delighted to pick out their own tea and pick the desserts.

I think you kids will love the 8 day.

Here are some things we enjoyed doing on our family cruise in May 2013.

On sea days for lunch they have soup and salads in the Ocean Plaza on deck 5. It was nice to listen to the the trivia, have bar service, and snack. Guy's and the Tandoori was other locations we loved for lunch.

We did try the brunch a couple of times and I loved the filet and eggs. My DH liked the Caesar Salad with Jerk Bacon. Another time I tried a pasta with mushroom sauce. It was very good. I think I have read on here that they have since changed the sauce. The Bloody Mary bar was a nice touch.

On the first sea day they have a cooking demonstration in the Fahrenheit 555. When we went it was about 11:30 a.m. They also give you small samples. :D

Some nights they have Dive-In movies at the Seaside Theatre on lido deck. They have popcorn and blankets in case you get to cold. Since we were on a family cruise our two boys and DH watched from the pool and I watched from a lounge chair while drinks were being served from the Red Rum Bar and Blue Iguana.

On our cruise there was a young man named Timmy who would play his guitar in the Red Frog Pub, Red Rum bar, and Blue Iguana. There was also a band called Love Souljaz that played all over the ship. My family enjoyed the live music.

On a side note we had the Cheers program so we tried a variety of new drinks that we would have been afraid to try. I like that aspect of the program and would get it again just because my DH has sticker shock every time he sees the price of each drink. It kind of gave us that all inclusive feel. :D

In May this year my family and I tried the Cucina del Capitano on the Breeze for dinner with a fee. We have received OBC from price drops so we decided to try it. Because I did have my DS 12 and DS 7 with us I booked an early time like 5:30 p.m. I am sorry to say that we did not like it. My DH and DS 12 tried the braised short ribs and my DS 12 told the waiter that he preferred his Mom's cooking. :o My DS 7 had spaghetti off the kids menu and did not eat it. I had the Chicken Parmesan and it was okay.

On a side note for this night: a lady approached us and told us how impressed she was that our boys was well behaved. She said that she feared the worst, but enjoyed watching my boys eat their meals. She said that she loved that my DS 12 told the waiter that Mom's food was better. :D

Now on the Dream my DH and I tried the free lunch and it was great. Did not try the free lunch on Breeze.

Your little boy is very cute. Thank you for the review! :)

I would pick Valor or Conquest. Our first cruise was out of San Juan and it was for our Honeymoon. Would love to do go out of San Juan again and spend a couple days there ahead of time. The islands that Valor is going to sound wonderful. Always wanted to see St. Lucia and St. Kitts. Conquest goes to Half Moon Cay which is beautiful and love the other islands.

Personally do not care for the Bahamas.

We flew to San Juan the day of the cruise on our very first cruise in 2002. It was also the first time my DH and I had been out of country and it was for our Honeymoon. :) Had a connection in Memphis and the plane broke down. It was a nerve racking four hour delay. Was to arrive at the port about noon, but arrived around 5:00 that night. The ship did not leave port until 10:00 that night, thank goodness.

Of course Murphy is a close friend to our family (he thinks he is anyway) and we always have some type of hiccup along the way. Because of this we always try to arrive one day early, even when we drive.

My husband, me, DS (12) and other DS (7) was on the Breeze in May 2013. Some of the things my kids loved was the water park area, dive in movies at night, there was also a towel animal folding activity on one of the sea days, steakhouse demonstration, tea time, and all the different food places. My DS 12 loved Guys burgers and ate one everyday. Both of the boys loved to order room service off the tv's. My boys love to eat so anything to do with food they love.

The tv's do have a parental controls set up on them. We set it so that they could not order anything like movies or food. We had to use a pin number that we created when we ordered the food.

Thy really wanted to try the Thrill Theater but we ran out of time. They also enjoyed the shows in the main theater. One night they had an magician in the main theater. Ran out of time to see the family comedy show. The Hasbro Game show is great for families. My husband was picked to play one of the games and won a small Simon game.

We were in a cove balcony and had plenty of room. I took one of the over the door shoe organizers to keep things neat and tidy. I also found a shower organizer at the $1 Store that help with the different bathroom items. We placed the luggage under the bed and used those as our laundry hamper.

Edit...Forgot to mention that they boys also like the rope course. I was to much of a chicken, but my husband and boys played on that for some time.

When we were on our cruise on the Breeze in May 2013 that is all my boys would order. If they asked very nicely they would get extra cherries. :D

We had a cove on both Dream (2302) and Breeze (2306). Love them.

Pros (for us):

Being close to the water

The shade

Felt private

Close to the gangway

Close to the theater and dinning

Cons:

I cannot think of any

We did not hear any noise or notice the water on the balcony. On the Dream we were playing the giant chess game on deck 5 and the people on their balconies would call out to us and help us. It was fun, but the balconies above deck 5 did not look private to us.

Would love to book another cove. Would book it in a heartbeat, just do not have the funds right now. lol :p